Arrest us. We're the Tokyo 2.9 Million

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Feature story - 9 December, 2008

Representatives of millions of Greenpeace supporters from around the world arrived at the doorstep of the Japanese Prime Minister in Tokyo today to demand an end to the political persecution of two Greenpeace anti-whaling activists, and an end to Japan's whaling in the Southern Ocean. Embassy actions are scheduled around the world today and tomorrow.

A "living statue" of Lady justice protests on behalf of Greenpeace in front of the Japanese embassy in The Hague, Netherlands.

The co-defendants include the chief whale-defenders (officially, Executive Directors) of Greenpeace offices from Japan, Germany, Netherlands, Australia, Switzerland, Brazil, USA and the Nordic countries, as well as Australian ex-whaling captain Paddy Hart.

Condemned by Amnesty International

Marking the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the group declared themselves 'co-defendants' in the trial of Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki. The two Greenpeace activists exposed corruption in the taxpayer-funded whaling industry, but were themselves arrested in a crackdown on Greenpeace itself in Tokyo.

A quarter of a million Greenpeace supporters wrote to the Prime Minister to demand their release. The arrest was denounced by Amnesty International, and fits a pattern of repression of the rights of free speech in Japan which has been condemned by the United Nations.

Whaling on trial

"We want Prime Minister Aso to know that if Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki are to be tried for exposing whale meat embezzlement and working to endthe killing of whales in the Japanese Government's 'research' programmein the Southern Ocean, then we should all be arrested," said JunHoshikawa, Executive Director of Greenpeace Japan. "It's not Greenpeace activists who should be put on trial; it is the government-backed whaling programme in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary."

Following a Greenpeace undercover investigation in May 2008 that exposed the embezzlement of whale meat from the taxpayer-funded whaling fleet, Japanese authorities responded with a politically-motivated prosecution, arresting Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki and raiding the Greenpeace Japan office in June 2008. They have now been awaiting trial for 172 days under bail conditions which prevent hem from continuing their Greenpeace campaign work to end whaling.

The trial is expected to begin early next year; they are both facing upto 10 years imprisonment.

Meanwhile, events will be happening throughout today and tomorrow at Japanese embassies in Brazil, USA, New Zealand, Argentina, France, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, Mexico, Spain, Greece, Canada, Italy and on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, activists declared themselves as 'co-defendants', by asking the Japanese government to "Arrest Me Too" and to put "Whaling on Trial".

Arrest me - Tokyo Two protests

Proof of life after whaling

Australian ex-whaling captain Paddy Hart, in Tokyo to support the TokyoTwo and the campaign to end Japan's whaling, was a master and gunner atthe Cheynes Beach Whaling Station in Western Australia until it ceasedoperation in 1978 - following Greenpeace protests.

"I'm here to assure whalers that there is life after whaling. Japan'swhaling programme is a taxpayer-funded government enterprise, so when it finally ends, it's the responsibility of the Japanese government and theFisheries Agency to retrain the crews for other, sustainable, work."

"In Australia alone, 300 million Australian dollars are made every year fromwhalewatching - hundreds of times more than was ever made by the whalingindustry", said Hart. "I am proud of my time at sea, but it was 30 yearsago. Times have changed, and the world has moved on - whaling no longerhas a place in the world."

We're all Junichi and Toru

Opposed to whaling? We're all Junichi & Toru. Download and print a mask

Do you know the story of Spartacus? He was the leader of a slave revolt in ancient Rome. When soldiers put down the uprising, the Romans demanded to know which of the slaves was Spartacus. One by one, each slave stood up to declare that he was Spartacus, masking their leader's true identiy and declaring their unity with his cause.

You can join Junichi and Toru in putting whaling on trial by contributing to our "Spartacus petition." Download a mask, and upload your picture wearing it to this Flickr account: